


Sublime (Coraline Fan Fic)

by Versatxle



Category: Coraline (2009)
Genre: Angst, April Spink - Freeform, Coraline (2009) - Freeform, Coraline - Freeform, Coraline and Wybie smoke weed, Coraline uses Molly, Drug Use, F/M, Folklore, Miriam Forcible - Freeform, No Smut, Other, Other mother backstory, Other mother's origins, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Sweet Ghost Girl, The cat (Coraline) - Freeform, They're older teens so y'know, Wybie - Freeform, Wybie's mom is dead, Wybie's origins, Wybourne Lovat, beldam - Freeform, fatherly abandonment, other mother - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 14:51:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16600034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Versatxle/pseuds/Versatxle
Summary: Coraline had tried plenty of ways to repress the memories that haunted her from that week of summer in 2009. Some ways were better than others, but none of them proved to be effective. But during the last few months before graduation- just as Coraline decides she is finally ready to move on- she discovers that there seems to be more than one passage way to the other word...(Rated Mature for explicit drug usage, mentions of past trauma and general spookiness...but mainly the drugs lol)





	1. This is your face on dogs (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> Before I'd like to start, I'd like to mention that YES I'm Versatxle from fan fiction.net incase anyone gets like concerned that some pleb is stealing my shitty fan fiction lmao. but I'm going to be posting the same story both here and Fan fiction.net for a while just to see how things go because there's so much I want to add to the story to make it more immersive like a Spotify playlist, Art for every chapter and whatnot but fan fiction seems to be suuuppper triggered over ANYONE posting links, lets just pray archive of our own isn't the same yIKES !! anyway if ur new I hope u enjoy the story! (Even though everyone in this fandom has died off, I thought it would be worth it as I've always wanted to write a full Coraline fan fic but after many years of attempting has proven to no avail...OH WELL better late then never.)

The air was cold.

A bone aching cold. The Oregon winter had long settled leaving countless grey days and a slither of sunlight, just enough to hit the dusted glass windows into Coraline's rosy room.  
Coraline had yet to fix the scattered clothes littered all over the room. In fact, she had yet to fix a lot of things in her little woman cave.

**_Snip._ **

It was two nights before her History test. Coraline— who had told her parents she was going to spend the night studying— had decided to spend the afternoon doing something rather different.

**_Snip._ **

Red had splattered all over the floor in chunks as the metallic sliced through it.

**_Snip._ **

"CORALINE! There's something in the mail for you!" Mel shouted from the kitchen down below.

"Coming!" Coraline panicked, looking in the mirror in horror as she had realised what she had done. Red was everywhere.

With one half of her firetruck hair at waist length and the other in a short bob, she realised there was no going back. Not this time. She couldn't go downstairs looking like this!

There were definitely better ways of dealing with last minute stress than cutting your own hair but Coraline was yet to find that solution. She hadn't had her hair this short since she was 5'4.

She carefully rose the scissors to the other side, making her best attempt to have it all one length rather than a lop sided bob.

**_Snip._ **

More red spread all over the floor, most of it damaged from excessive bleaching and pots upon pots of manic panic hair dye.

The worst part about all of this was Coraline's lack of a mirror to see her head from behind. She hoped, she prayed, it was all even. Or at least even enough to a degree of decency.

"Coraline!" Her mother called out again, Coraline felt the sharp panic rise through her face as she made an attempt to make her hair look presentable to her family when she came down from her once bedroom— now salon.

"What do you think mom?" Coraline peeked her head into the kitchen. Mel was gripping onto her cup of coffee, but almost dropped it at the sight of Coraline's hair.

"Coraline! What— I—" Her jaw fell to the ground.

"I thought it was time for a change." Coraline shrugged, going in to pick the parcel off the kitchen table.  
"Coraline you spent years growing that out!" Mel sighed, she was not upset…more disappointed. But what could she do.  
"It's fine mom."  
"F-Fine? Coraline…I-…where is all the hair?!"  
"I'll put in a plastic bag!" The olive eyed girl took out the letter opener, stabbing into the plastic zig zagging her way through the package, eager to get into the contents inside, smiling she took out a plastic baggie of a dozen multicoloured hair clips.  
"What did you buy that for?" Mel raised her brow, "You can find them at Walmart?"  
"Yeah but they're like 75cents on Wish . com."  
"Wish dot what?" The mother put down her coffee.  
"Website…" Coraline stuffed the baggie in her pocket. "Anyway mom I gotta go. I'm picking up Wybie from his place."  
"What about your hair?! And I thought you said you were studying!"  
"I said I put in in a plastic bag!"  
"I swear to god Coraline if I find a pile of red hair in your room I'm making you come home and cleaning it up."  
"Its fine!" Coraline grabbed the keys which sat on top of the microwave, unlocking the birch wood door leading to the hand me down car which sat outside on the driveway. "Bye mom!" She shouted from the distance.

The car wasn't much, but it was certainly an upgrade from the little buggy Mel refused to get rid of for years. Coraline had split the payment of the car with her parents, but with how run down the thing was…there wasn't really much of a payment to begin with.

She started the heating, shivering in the cold as she waited the heating to warm up the small space. Taking out her stale cigarettes from the glove box, her fingers trembled as she took several attempts at lighting the coffin nail, quickly inhaling before the flame could burn her thumb. Turning the cold metal keys, her small red Hyundai chuffed and rattled as the engine started, Coraline turning out of her driveway with a cigarette hanging down from her mouth.

**Wybaby: '** _hey jonsey'_

The notification on her phone popped up— Coraline who knew the road rules very well, looked down at her phone regardless. How irresponsible.

**Wybaby:** _'Jonsey where r uuuuu'_

Coraline thought about texting back, but then the words of the driver instructor rang from the front of her head through the back, almost giving her a slight headache.

_"Under no circumstances must you get distracted from a phone!"_ She told the red head countless of times during her driving test.

_'_ **Wybaby: '** _BIIIIICHH where r u its coLD'_

Coraline grabbed the phone, having enough from the constant _'dings'_ every four seconds.

**Coraloan:** ' _im around the corner u impatient shit'_

Coraline made a few sharp turns, briefly avoiding collision with an incorrect right hand turn at the round about. She was never fond of driving, but needed to get her practice— her father had mentioned several times that she didn't have her mothers talent for driving.

"Get in loser we're going shopping." Coraline winded down the window, honking her horn at the boy who stood sheepishly on his front porch. He stood with his back still hunched. His wire-like hair had grown out a fair bit over the years and a personal (and mildly drunken) touch were the slightly dreaded ends with a few loc's hanging down his face. The teen made his way over to the car stuffed with nicotine, opening the door trying to fit his bag in the what limited space they had in the backseats. He wore a black denim jacket with a dark grey fleece collar with a warm jumper his grandmother had knitted for him. He tried to avoid wearing it at the best of times, but the weather proved to be too much, even for Wybie.

"Your hair!" He exclaimed, admiring the girls new bob.  
"What about it?" Coraline raised a brow, smirking slightly.  
"Jesus Coraline— you said you had coping mechanisms for stress— I didn't think you meant that!"  
"It's called improvisation! And besides, anything looks better than that mop of yours."  
"Well I'm sorry I don't have your cock-asian-bleach-damaged emo-ass looking hair." Wybie furrowed his brows, moving a loc from his face tucking it behind his ear, Wybie was quite sensitive when anyone commented on his hair.  
"Well!— I—" Coraline kept her eyes on the road, trying to find a come-back but to no avail. She was defeated. "Fine."

Wybie gave her a cheeky side eye, before suddenly switching expressions. "Oh! Did you get the—"  
"Check the glovebox." The girl answered him, the boy opening the box in response, the two corners of his mouth smiling at the sight of four pink coloured pills.  
"I got them from Damon, tonights party is going to be amazing." Coraline said.

Wybie took out the baggie, holding it in his hand like his life depended on it. "Two for you, two for me. Let's just hope these aren't laced or anything."


	2. Sirens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coraline remembers so vividly her first time using Molly. It's a shame she can't say the same for the other times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RW (Reader Warning): Explicit scenes of the usage of Molly (MDMA) and swearing.

**1**

Coraline felt the sweat trickle down her forehead, her teeth grinding against themselves as she felt every beat and rhythm spreading through her veins like wildfire. Whatever was in those pills had definitely worked and Coraline couldn't get enough of it. The pounds of the music thumped through the cracked walls of the once-adult-now-teen-supervised household. The sounds of beer bottles clanging, teenagers cheering and lingering nicotine swarmed the home, almost invading it.

**_One to da two to da three to da four!_ **

**_Line my street, knocking at my door,_ **

**_Twelve black boots on my bedroom floor,_ **

**_What they want with rascal I'm not sure…_ **

"Caroline! Get in!" A group of girls called, one of them holding up a Polaroid. Coraline always hated polaroids.

Well— perhaps not polaroids themselves but the type of people who used them.

Coraline hesitated at first— mainly due to the mispronunciation of her name— but eventually had no say whether she was in the photo or not, as the group of girls pulled her in last second, the flash blinding her briefly. She wasn't too sure on the expression she made, and she wasn't exactly too keen on finding out.

"Coraline!" Another voiced called out. Damon Thaws, the host of the _Hell House_ as he liked to call it. He was a tall lanky looking thing with spiralled orange hair that bounced with every movement, his eyes were the most brilliant of green and they were wide with excitement. He— unlike most at the party— was sober, having nothing more than a cider and lemonade. Damon had an on and off relationship with Coraline, something Wybie was never too fond of. It wasn't a particularly healthy relationship— but a relationship it was none the less.

"Hey!" Coraline smiled at the boy, "Great party!"  
"Your hair!" He smiled, "It looks lovely."

"Th-Thanks!" Coraline was never too sure on how to take a compliment, she was always so bad on figuring out how to respond.

It was worse enough that they had broken up for the second time that year, Damon too was finding it hard— even though he was the one that initiated conversation in the first place.

"You look to be having fun!" The orange haired boy commented her wide drugged eyes.

"Y-yeah! They're great!" She said, her body feeling jittery; her eyes trembling.

"They?" Damon raised a brow, smiling cheekily.

"The— the things— the…the…" Coraline had lost her train of thought, closing her eyes in an attempt to remember.

"Drugs. The drugs." He chuckled, moving out to hold her hand.

"Yes…" She laughed, "Yes the drugs." She pulled her hand away swiftly, as the clouding fog in her brain started to clear— even if it was for a second.

"Wheres your friend?" Damon asked.

"He's over there, with Salena and her friends." She eyed the other corner of the lounge, raising her voice over the loud music, hoping that it would somehow reach Damons ears.

Wybie stood in the corner, huddled together with a small group. He seemed to be having the time of his life and although what he was saying was indistinctable, the constant movement of his lips and ecstatic expressions showed that whatever they took had obviously kicked in for him.

**_If I go down I'll be a dam fool,_ **

**_Gotta rise up, gotta stand up tall,_ **

**_Can't let em see the end of Dizzee Rascal._ **

**_Blud, when you hear the sirens coming!_ **

**_I can hear the sirens coming!_ **

**_Better run when you hear the sirens coming!_ **

**_I can hear the sirens coming!_ **

"Hey listen uh," Coraline scratched the back of her neck. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Need to powder my nose." She chuckled, "And not in the way you think hey?" Her voice trailed off, slowly moving backwards into the darkness of the corridor. Damon not having enough time to respond before she slipped into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

The air was thick, and her head was pounding. Splashing her face with water she felt the sensation linger for longer than expected.

**_We are small but we are many…_ **

Coraline quickly shot up. "What?" She called out, "whose there?"

**_We are many we are small…_ **

The music, it must've been the music.

**_Yo, let's take it back to that old school story telling shit_ **

**_Get me!_ **

**_One day I was with my bredwin 'A dot' roaming the streets_ **

**_On the main road hungry looking for something to eat_ **

**_Not no burger and no chips that's easily digested._ **

She didn't remember an ensemble of any sort in a Dizzee Rascal song.

**_We were here before you rose…_ **

The voices were rusty and congested. It was enough to make anyone sick to the stomach. It made Coraline sick to the stomach. She felt her throat burning, starting to tighten as if she was having some sort of allergic reaction. She could breath, but hardly.

**_We will be here when you fall._ **

**C O R A L I N E**

"CORALINE!" A loud thump at the door, startled the girl. The door creaking open to reveal a Wybie with his head low, nose bleeding.

"Wybie! What happened!?" She rushed over, grabbing a towel along the way.

"I don't know— I just started bleeding." He put the pink towel to his nose, soaking up the blood. "Sorry for shouting, It's just loud out there." He looked in the mirror, making eye contact with Coraline's reflection. "You alright?" Wybie looked at the girl.

"Yeah no…I thought I heard something thats all…the molly must be wearing off." She turned back to the dark corner squinting to what she thought were small red beady eyes, dozens of them— just staring.

**2**

Coraline didn't deny that she felt a little uneasy for the rest of the night after that. She kept the little rat incident to herself, and blamed it on some sort of drug induced side effect.

But she couldn't get rid of the nauseating feeling it gave her, it was almost a kick to the stomach every her mind played the whispery voices. She didn't want to think it had anything to do with…that…could it?

After all she had spent so long trying to forget.

Wybie wouldn't even dare bring it up in front of the girl unless he wished Coraline three days of hyperventilation and a punch to the face.

She didn't let it get to her for the longest time until the nightmares started, and of course, the random button induced panic attacks. It made her realise it had more of an effect on her than she initially thought.

She would even skip every textiles class regardless of the very pretty Damon who she would share the class with— it was all just too much.

"Alright everyone. You'll have 10 minutes reading time, your are NOT, and I repeat NOT allowed to pick up your pen during this. When I say so you may start writing. Reading begins…" The class looked at the teacher from their separated desks, waiting in anticipation. All except for Coraline, whose comedown had hit her particularly hard.

"…now." The teacher said, the sound of hurried papers turning flipping through the visual prompts and other mumbo jumbo that Coraline could care less about.

At one point she cared about the history test. So much so that she decided it would be a good idea to cut all of her hair off— something she had learned to regret.

**_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_ **

The teacher sighed, putting his head in his hands. Wybie peeking in a late note crumpled in his hands.

"Only you would be late for an exam Wybourne." He grabbed the late note off the boy, tossing it in the bin before Wybie could open his mouth.

"Sir I—"

"I don't care. Just sit down, you're late enough as it is." The teacher sat at his desk, motioning him at an empty desk next to Coraline. She gave him a look. Wybie was not particularly sure on what the look was meant to imply, so he simply shrugged, opening the exam paper— his eyes widening in horror as he realised how undoubtedly screwed he was.

Now Wybie wasn't the type to cuss, but as his eyes scanned the criteria he looked back at the red headed girl.

"Fuck." He mouthed, Coraline shrugged back mocking him before putting her head down starting to fill in the answers.

**_We have teeth and we have tails…_ **

Coraline's head once again shot up.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered to Wybie, who was in the middle of a little freak out.

"Coraline please!" The teacher eyed her, looking up form his laptop. Coraline putting her head back down in response.

The sound of lead scribbling on paper wasn't enough to mask the swirling nausea in her stomach. Those voices, they sounded so…off…so…wrong.

**_We have tails we have eyes…_ **

"Sir." Coraline's hand rose.  
The teacher's laptop slammed shut, students jumping in their seats at the sudden noise.

"What."  
"Can I use the bathroom?"

"Now?"

"Yes."  
"Is it urgent."  
"Uh…yes…lady problems." She said, making a soft nervous chuckle.

The teacher stopped to think for a second, before coming to his final decision. "Alright fine. Hall pass is on my desk. Please don't take more than 10 minutes alright?" He said.

Coraline was quick to leave, her chest started to burn as she felt an oncoming panic attack. She felt agitated, her eyes darting around the school corridor.

**_We were here before you fell…_ **

"STOP IT!" She shouted to a seemingly empty hallway, her feet starting to hurry, making her way to the school bathroom. It was a large, grand bathroom. Coraline had guessed it was older than the school itself. But Coraline wasn't thinking about the architecture of the bathroom, at least not at that moment.

She splashed her face with the cold water, it was icy against her skin. She was out of breath from seemingly doing nothing. Her shoulders started to tingle, the feeling one gets when someone is being watched. She couldn't shake it off.

**_You will be here when we RISE._ **

Coraline let out an audible gasp, turning behind her quickly to the bathroom stall covered in graffiti and drawings of abnormally large penises. For once Coraline was comforted by the dick drawings.

**_Its not real, its not real_ **

Coraline thought over and over.

"It's not real, its not real." She mumbled, now out loud. She closed her eyes, feeling the winter breeze slide past her face.

She could hear the sounds off small feet scurrying on the tiles below her. The breeze suddenly stopped…and the room grew silent. Too silent. It was a defining silence, the type of silence you only get when on the brink of insanity. The type of silence that one can't even explain. Coraline couldn't even hear herself breath. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

Her eyes opened, she gripped the sides of the sink, looking into the mirror and the bathroom stall behind her. She stood still in her place, her legs starting to tremble.

A pair of black, soulless eyes stared back at her.

Buttons.

They were buttons.

They were her buttons.

 


	3. La Lune

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RW/TW: Swearing, (including the C-word) smoking, mentions of fatherly abandonment, mentions of family death, explicit usage of pot.

**1**

"So you're saying—"

"Yes!" Coraline flailed her arms, shakily inhaling her cigarette her hair frizzed outwards, her eyes sunken into her face with darkened bags showing her lack of sleep.

"It was like…it was like there was nothing…like…like there was no substance. I wasn't so scared of the reflection itself but more of the idea of it." She flicked the ash onto the pink ashtray.

"Idea of it?" Wybie raised his brow, "You're telling me you weren't terrified of your reflection having buttons in your eyes but the _idea_ of it?"

"No you don't understand. It's not the physical form of buttons thats scary…its the idea of being soulless. Having no substance. No way of existing. Like…like if I got stabbed by a psycho killer like I'd be dead sure…but my soul would go on, theoretically. But with buttons, thats it. Its just an empty void of nothing for all of eternity— like— what would that even be like?"

"Aren't you more scared of like being eaten alive?"  
"She didn't _eat them_ alive." Coraline looked down at the wooden floorboards, her back pressed up against the sides of Wybie's bed. His room was small, cosy— with every inch of the walls covered in posters and photos of past times. Fairy lights hung down— something Coraline pointed out was a little bit feminine, but Wybie thought they were nice. It made him feel comfortable.

"Then what _did_ she do?" The boy asked.

"I don't know Wybie, I didn't think to ask!" Coraline growled, pressing the cigarette butt against the ash tray.

**CLANG!**

Two heads quickly turned in the directions of the noise.

"Shit." Wybie got up.

"Gramma! Gramma please leave the roses!" He ran to the living room.

Mrs Lovat had started to deteriorate the summer before. She was a strong woman, who had gone above and beyond to raise her grandson, but the older she got— the more it seemed that Wybie was the one to be raising her.

"Wybourne, I told your mother I'd water these for her!" Mrs Lovat grew defensive, pushing her grandson aside.

Wybie made a low sigh, Coraline frowned at the two her heart sinking at Mrs Lovat's comment.

"Gramma," Wybie grabbed the can off her, "they're plastic."

"Don't worry Mrs Lovat." Coraline wondered over, "We'll water the plants for you. Why don't you sit down? I'll make you some tea." She smiled at the old lady, who seemed to be lost in her own world.

"Thank you young lady." The antique woman said, her voice sweet like toffee apples. "And Wybourne, please tell your father to stop smoking in the house! You know I can't stand the stench." Mrs Lovat shook her head, before mumbling a few words to herself and disappearing into the corridor.

"I better open a window." Coraline commented. "How does she like her tea?" She asked.

"Don't bother." Wybie grabbed the tea towel, starting to dry the puddle of water surrounding the plastic potted plant. "She'll forget in about 5 minutes anyway, then she'll probably ask where the tea came form— then she'll tell me off for not getting a cup of tea for you, our _'guest'_ THEN you will have to introduce yourself for the fourth time and—"

"I get it." The girl frowned. "If it helps my grandmother doesn't even remember who I am."

"Yeah but where does she live?" Wybie asked.

"In a nursing home…" Coraline then realised the insensitive nature of her previous comment. "…out of town."

"Sorry." She admitted, watching the boy wipe the floor clean. "Speaking of your father did you manage to—"

"No." Wybie cut her off. "No he's not responding to any of my messages. And since I'm eighteen by law he doesn't have too. It's no use."

"But that's so wrong! I mean— what are you meant to do when she…you know…"  
"Why don't you tell him that." The air was tense with Wybie's sudden agitated mood change. "I don't want to talk to the cunt anyway."  
"Wybie!" Coraline gasped.

"What?! You afraid he's going to hear?!"

"Jesus fuck Wybie whats wrong with you?!" Coraline's red hair suddenly started to match the emerging colour on her face.

"Nothing!" The boy started to raise his voice.

"Oh clearly." Coraline folded her arms, Wybie's head starting to lower back down.

"Sorry." He bit his bottom lip, feeling his body start to cool down. "I'm sorry." The boy started to nervously wringle his hands, a habit he had never broken.

"Yeah." Coraline avoided making eye contact with the boy, not knowing how to fix the awkward tension of the fighting aftermath "You should be."

Coraline knew there were plenty of ways to ease tension, that however, definitely wasn't one of them.

She stayed with her arms crossed for a few minutes, watching Wybie clean the rest of the floor. The tension was…to say the least— uncomfortable.

"So what do you make of it?" Wybie asked.

"Make of what?" Coraline asked.

"The buttons."

The girl quickly changed expressions, looking down at the grey wooden floor, her brows furrowing.

"I— I don't know. I mean…I think I do but— god I hope it isn't it." She looked back up.

"What do you think?" She braced herself for his response.  
"D-Do you even know what she was?" Wybie asked.

"You didn't answer my question."  
"Don't you want to know more?"  
"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."  
"Well if I think I know what you mean then no. I don't."  
"Why?"

Coraline gritted her teeth again, sensing another bitter argument starting to rise from beneath them. "Why do you think?!" She exclaimed.

"God! We're going nowhere with this!" Wybie groaned, starting to make his way back to his room.

Clearly the comedowns from the molly had effected both of them. Every slight change in tone was enough to set both of them off to another argument. Yet Coraline seemed oddly resilient of Wybie's edgy tones, partly due to the fact that she was too scared to be home alone— she felt like she had no choice but to stick around for the rest of the afternoon.

" _We're_ going nowhere? Clearly _you're_ the one thats got something up your ass." Coraline followed him.

"I said I was sorry." Wybie said.

"You're still being an ass though." She sat on the bed, sitting cross legged tracing her finger on the blanket. His room smelt musty, with a thin scent of cheap deodorant and week old pot. Coraline found the mixture of musts oddly comforting.

Wybie opened a window, clearing the scent of nicotine which seemed to have clung onto the curtains with no chance of escape. The fish tank that sat on top of the drawers underneath the window made a faint humming noise, something Coraline could easily fall asleep too. The fish wasn't anything special, he would swim from edge to edge occasionally nibbling at the algae which was growing at the corners of the tank.

Wybie plugged in his phone, having it charge on his desk next to the bluetooth speakers.

"Any requests?" He asked, the air in the room suddenly turned calm.

"La Lune…I like that song." Coraline smiled sweetly at him.

**_'_ ** **_Sins will swallow explicit_ **

**_Kinks of hollow mystic_ **

**_That sit deep in a limp twitch_ **

**_Turns a pale tanner_ **

**_Handspan a hammer_ **

**_Consults a cold manner_ **

**_That lies deep in the grammar.'_ **

Coraline shuffled to the other side of the bed, laying down next to the wall and turning onto her side, resting her arm across her hip.

Wybie, who seemed to be distracted from digging in his drawers, looking for something in particular— didn't notice Coraline who was staring at him, almost admiring him for some reason.

_For some reason._

"What'chya' looking for?" Coraline raised a brow, trying to grab the boys attention.

"Weed. My weed." Wybie said, searching his underwear drawer.

" _Your_ weed? Damn Wybie I thought it was Mrs Lovat's." She chuckled, keeping a consistent smirk at the boy.

A smile spread of Wybies face as he came across the little baggie with green grinded buds. It didn't take long for him to get set up, taking out his playboy lighter and taking the first inhale from the small metal pipe before passing it to the girl next to him. Coraline prompted herself up, taking a hit while Wybie laid down on the bed next to her, looking to the cemented sky above.

Coraline let out a few husked coughs, her eyes watering, her throat burning.

**_'_ ** **_Mono inner collision_ **

**_Born to mid decision_ **

**_Born bare invision_ **

**_Just to master a sigh_ **

**_They found reasons to try_ **

**_Clone the sea at night_ **

**_Brave waves bathe the eye_ **

**_Well I crave ways to dry'_ **

Soon the two were laying on the bed. Staring at the off white cracked ceiling. Eyes as red as the Chinese lantern that hung above the boys bed.

Coraline moved her head slightly closer to the boys shoulder leaning in smelling his distinct Calvin Klein cologne Mel had gifted him for his 16th birthday. Coraline felt warm. Comfortable. The song seemed more distant than ever.

"Coraline?" Wybie said, his voice soft…but not weak.

"Mm?" She looked up.

"I saw something too." He said.

"You can tell me about it at dinner." She said, placing her arm across his chest holding him close. Smoking always made her sleepy, and physically clingy.

If for any reason that wasn't already obvious.

**_'_ ** **_See I was raised to the moon_ **

**_Just to hold a gaze with a view_ **

**_Across the other side_ **

**_It won't be long till you're inside_ **

**_'Til you're inside my heart_ **

**_'Til you're inside_ **

**_'Til you're inside my heart_ **

**_To be with you, such a view_ **

**_To be elevated to you_ **

**_To be elevated to you'_ **

**2**

Coraline had forgotten to ask Wybie what he saw at dinner. In fact she had acted like she had forgotten about the whole mirror incident entirely. By the time they went back to school the following week. Coraline had tried her hardest to repress all button related topics.

Wybie wasn't sure whether to bring it up or not as the girl had acted like nothing ever happened, regardless of being quite tense throughout the week. She was often found making more snippy remarks than she usually would on a comedown. She even snapped at Damon during Chemisty. Something Wybie was truly surprised about.

The winter had long settled and the approaching anxiety of the Christmas holidays lingered. Coraline didn't like Christmas. She couldn't even finding herself caring about Christmas. To hell with Christmas.

Coraline wasn't always a grinch— in fact it used to be her favourite holiday. But with every coming year she seemed to grow less and less interested in any capitalist holiday that rocked round. Of course she would still give out the occasional candy cane or two, and was always polite about the sweaters Miss Spink would knit for her— but her enthusiasm had been destroyed entirely this year through the constant anxiety of the feeling that she was always being watched.

It was sleepless nights that got her the most. The sounds of the ensemble with tiny, rusted yet harmonious voices was what truly got to her.

**_We have eyes and we have noses we have tails we have teeth,_ **

**_you'll all get what you deserve-ses when we rise from underneath._ **

Coraline had almost gotten used to it by now. It had invaded her dreams, her train of thoughts, even her sentences. Coraline couldn't stop thinking, dreaming, living the song.

"Coraline!" Mel called from the kitchen, stirring the ready to cook stir fry which had been sitting in the freezer for far too long. "Dinner!" She said.

Charlie was reading a pamphlet that was delivered to the front porch of tourist attractions in Ashland.

"Hey hon, we only live a few miles from a stable! Why haven't we ever been horse riding?" He looked up at his wife, not noticing Coraline entering the kitchen, holding her phone in her hand.

"Because they're for tourists. Check the prices." Mel poured the stir-fry onto a bowl.

"It'll be fun!" The man turned to his daughter, "What do you say, love?"

"What?" Coraline raised a brow, confused at her father.

"Horse riding. It's only a few miles away. I'm pretty sure its near your school!" He said enthusiastically.

"Yeah maybe. If I was 10." Coraline rolled her eyes taking out glasses from the kitchen cabinet.

"Coraline I must say, I've tolerated all of your phases but I don't know what we would have done if you went through a horse phase." Mel admitted sighing at the burnt chicken.

"Maybe you would have gotten me a horse?" Coraline shrugged.

"What and actually take care of it? Just like the cat?" Charlie laughed, heavy sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Okay well first of all, that cat was never really mine. And second of all _he_ disappeared off the face of the earth."

Coraline had always wondered what happened to the cat. One day during the summer he just…left. Coraline was upset, but not as upset as Wybie, who after several attempts of leaving cat food, cat nip and other cat related treats on his windowsill still had a slither of hope for his return. Coraline knew he was still out there somewhere, perhaps having an adventure of a lifetime— or maybe he found a mate— Coraline too had a slither of hope for his return, perhaps with little kittens to bring back with him.

She did admit she had missed the days of finding him at her window, meowing and begging to be let in with a dead bird in his mouth— often as a means of trade. A dead bird for a warm night on Coraline bed. Occasionally, she even bathed him— much to the cats despair. She hoped that bath time wasn't the reason for his disappearance, however part of her couldn't help but feel that the cat disappearing had something to do with the recent incident.

After dinner Coraline helped clean up, and even washed the dishes which even after all these years it was a chore she had still complained about. The sound of snow hitting the window soothed Coraline as she scrubbed porcelain dishes in the cold empty kitchen, staring out the dark window which usually gave her the creeps, but tonight it felt oddly safe.

With a final clank of cutlery she pulled the plug, draining the dirty water from the sink. She watched the food gunk spiral down— in a way it almost hypnotised her. Though her trance was cut short by a small bang against the window. It nearly startled her, so much so that she started to feel the tingle on her shoulders. That familiar feeling of being watched.

She squinted, looking out of the window as she swore she saw shapes of some sort of beings flying past. Perhaps she was just scaring herself, after all it was one of her many talents. Coraline thought perhaps she was just loosing it, besides, mid terms exams were coming up soon and—

_"_ _Meow…"_

Coraline's head sprang up, spotting a dead bird on the kitchen window sill.

Coraline couldn't help but smile— only for it to drop realising the only reason the cat would come back…is if Coraline once again needed his help.


	4. Black Quarterback

**1**

"Caroline dear— I hope you're not letting that cat out at night, it nearly scared poor Hamish half to death." Miss Spink said, pouring Coraline a cup oolong tea.

"Cat?" The red head raised a brow, looking at the little albino Scottish terrier sniffing her mud covered boots.

"Yes dear." The round woman chuckled, "At least it was a cat last time I checked."

Their apartment hadn't changed much during the years, it still had a strong scent of sage incense that was prominent even from the stairs leading down to the apartment. Coraline was there every few afternoons or so, often returning mixed up mail or empty salad bowls from gifted macaroni and cheese that seemed to be Miriam's specialty.

"Thats odd." Coraline swirled her tea in her mug.  
"What is?" Miss Spink tore open a packet of digestive biscuits.  
"I just— well I haven't seen him...at least I think...in almost a year and a bit. Since last summer, remember?"  
"Not particularly lovey, my memories fading a bit. I can't stay young and beautiful forever!" The old woman giggled— Coraline smiling softly in response. She never really expected much from either of the two when talking to them about her problems, it was more the seemingly innocent responses that was enough for her. When of course the old couple weren't bickering with each other. "Is there anything you came for in particular darling?"  
"Things have been a bit weird recently, I mean I saw- well I think I saw the cat last night. just thought I'd drop by to see if you'd have any advice." Coraline shrugged her hands clasped together.  
"Oh lovey, It's quite normal for feral creatures to run off and return months later."  
"He's not feral." Coraline growled.  
"Then again, I've always told Miriam there was something off about this place." April said, completely ignoring her response..  
"Then why haven't you moved? Out of curiosity of course." Coraline said, still clearly offended by April's comment.  
"Coraline deary, we're far to old to be house hunting now! If a place is haunted we might as well do what we can to live with it."

Coraline eyes sparked at her comment, quickly straightening her back from being sunken too deeply in the comfortable sofa. "Haunted?"

"For goodness sake April!" Called out a familiar voice from the kitchen. "You're scaring the poor girl!" Miss Forcible stuck her head into the lounge, squinting through her spectacles.  
"No no…it's fine really." Coraline leant in, "What do you mean haunted?"  
April furrowed her brows, once again ignoring Coraline's response and turning to Miriam in the kitchen. "The poor girl?! She's nearly sixteen for goodness sake! She might as well know!"

The red head started to grow impatient."Eighteen actually…and know about what!"

Coraline response went over Miriam's head as she wasn't the type to admit defeat, at least not to Apirl— she was determined. "You and your bloody hocus-pocus, crystal-chakra bull! You're probably inviting half of the spirits in this house!"  
"Me?! Well maybe if you cleared of all _your_ bad energy—"

" ** _AHEM!_** " Coraline cleared her throat, crossing her arms. The two suddenly stopped, as if a plug was being pulled on a broken radio. "What is it that I should know about?" She asked again.

"Faeries." April grinned.

Coraline was slightly disappointed to say the least, she knew that just like Mrs Lovat— age was starting to take it's toll with their minds starting to fade. She started to take what the two had to say to her with a pinch of salt. "What?" She asked

Miss Spink nodded, "You heard me deary! Faeries!"  
"Like, the little tinker bell looking fairies?"  
April shook her head, "Oh I wish darling. But no, _faeries._ Evil little creatures."  
"And you think…you think faeries are haunting the house?" Coraline leant back in her seat, her arms still folded.  
"Well, maybe not _faeries…_ but a faery. Just the one. We've seen the signs ourselves haven't we Miriam!" She called out.

A groan of annoyance was the only thing heard from the other room.

"And what exactly are faeries?" The young girl had always had an interest in myth and folk lore— after all with an experience with something as unique as…

Coraline stopped her train of thought there. Even in her mind she struggled to say her name.

…With an experience with something as unique as _The Beldam._

Coraline bit her tongue, her stomach swirling with the anxiety induced nausea, her hand clutching the nearest dog as she tried to stay focused in whatever April was planning to say next.  
"There are many-a-type of faeries we could be talking about." Miss Spink said, feeding the dog one of the digestive biscuits.  
"I'm talking about the one that lives in the house." Coraline grit her teeth, her breathing started to speed up, invisible beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. Her nails digging into the sofa on the fabric which she sat on.  
"I…well I never said it _lived_ in the—"  
"You just said like five minutes ago that the place was haunted—"

**Suddenly, everything went black.**

A haunting black. A black so black there wasn't even the slither one would get when closing one's eyes in the darkest of rooms.

It was just black.

Coraline knew she was somewhere. At the very least she wasn't floating into some abyss.  
She looked down at her hands, they were there. They weren't hard to see, they were just there.  
She started to make panicked sounds. "Hello?! Miss Spink!" She called out.  
"HELLO!" She felt her sneakers start to soak, looking down she saw the ink-like substance which puddled on the floor was soaking into white the fabric.

"Of course lovely, everyone does." Said a voice in the distance— quiet at first as Coraline could hardly make out the words.

Coraline could see a faint glow at the corner of her eye in the direction of the voice.

"So…so you're saying everyone has an other mother?" A smaller, younger voice said in response, this time clearer.

Coraline then realised she was somehow walking towards it, she could have stopped herself if she physically forced herself too…but the overwhelming curiosity almost seemed to possess her footsteps as the white glow, once small, was now so bright it became enough to make the red head squint.

Suddenly, everything went white.

A comforting white. A white so white that it was like staring in the sun then looking away, just for mere a second.

Only a second.

Coraline felt familiar wooden boards under her feet, she was home.

In her own home.

**At least that's what she thought.**

"Yes! You better eat up now before your food gets cold." A voice said from the kitchen, while not familiar in tone— Coraline knew exactly who it was.

It was funny, after all these years of being so afraid of even the name _'Beldam.'_ Coraline felt an odd urge to barge into the scene— whatever it was. Though her urge was repressed by her intuition causing her to tip toe through the corridor. She didn't feel confused, she did't feel scared— oddly enough she didn't even feel brave. She just felt that somehow she was meant to be there. Wherever _'there'_ was.

Coraline peeked her head into the dining room. It was different. Much different. Different to how she remembered it from the other world, different form her real dining room. In fact it was only then she realised everything was different. Too different.

"The sweet ghost girl!" Coraline whispered to herself feeling the nauseating anxiety as she spotted The Beldam, this time in the form of what she could only presume was the sweet ghost girls mother. She wore a knee length A-line dresses with puffed shoulders which was sporting the most warmest of reds. Her skin was a dark hickory, but not as dark as her shined hair tied up in a neat victory roll finished off with a knitted tulip that clipped onto the side. The familiar black lifeless buttons stared into the sweet girl hungrily, before pulling out a small present from behind her back.

The other Mrs Lovat— who seemed to not look a day over ten sat in the dining chair, next to her other father.

Coraline quickly turned back into the corridor, fearing being spotted, only peeking her eyes through to the dining room watch the scene play out.

"You could stay here forever Ginny…if you want too…" The Beldam said.

"Don't do it…Don't do it!" Coraline whispered, fighting the urge to come to the girls rescue.

"Really?" Ginny's eyes sparkled with excitement clutching onto her dress in anticipation eyeing the present the other mother held in her hands.

A present Coraline knew all too well of.

"Sure! We'll sing and play games and mother would cook your favourite meals." Ginny's other father said.  
"There's only one tiny thing we need to do." The Beldam placed the box in front of her, the shining black buttons stared up at the young girl. "Black is traditional, but if you prefer pink, or vermillion…or chartreuse…"

Coraline could see Ginny's heart drop, the other Mrs Lovat sat sheepishly in her chair, looking at her feet with a familiar frown Coraline remembered so clearly.

**_Wybie._ **

**_The Other Wybie._ **

**_What ever happened too him?_ **

**_I'm not too sure._ **

"You mean…You mean I'm going to have to become like you?" Ginny said, picking one of the buttons holding it up to her eye.

"No…" Coraline whispered helplessly still from the safety of behind the door frame. "God no…"

"It wont hurt will it?" The young girl questioned, putting the button back in the box.  
"Not at all! _And_ It'll be as quick as ever."  
"Like a band-aid…without the pain of course." Ginny giggled.  
"Of course." The beldam grinned, her smile seemed to be desperate, her red fingernails tapping on the tablecloth.

Coraline's teeth grit, watching Ginny slowly make up her mind.

"I'll do it!" The young girl said excitedly. "Ill do it! I want to stay here forever!"  
**_"_** ** _NO!"_** Coraline screamed, bursting to the dining room her hand held out— she couldn't stand another second standing behind the safety of the door frame.

The other mother quickly turning her head to the red haired girl, a devilish grin spread across her face.

"How nice of you to join us." The Beldam said. "It's been a while hasn't it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little pressies for my loyal hoes to the fan fic: https://open.spotify.com/user/tretrixx/playlist/0VnDqn39cPQ6LGMknbADSu?si=WQFJo1dBSw2xv4bKeB85zQ ily


	5. Rain or Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wybie's dads a dick lol

**1**

Mel was more than certain Coraline’s ear tearing scream was loud enough for her friends back in Michigan to hear. Miss Spink had almost spilt tea on her scottie dogs after being startled by such a frightening sound.  
Coraline’s shirt soaked in her sweat, panting as if she had just ran a marathon.  
“Coraline!” Mel exclaimed, holding a cold towel, staring at her daughter in horror.  
Coraline sat there, making small sobs with her eyes wide open. She remembered reading something on how to deal with panic attacks— 3 things you can see, two things you can hear, one thing you can feel…or something along those lines.

 

**I can see Miss Spink holding an empty tea pot, with a brown puddle with bits of leaves flooding the table top. I can see Miss Forcible, looking at me, her expression were as if she saw a ghost. I can see mom, I can— I think— I can see mom. She’s holding a damp towel. Am I home? I think so.  
** **I can hear the sounds of the scottie dogs barking, I never liked those dogs.  
** **I can also just make out the soft pattering of snow sprinkling on their wooden front door.  
** **And I can feel…I can feel…I feel the sofa. It’s damp.**   
****

**With sweat?**   
****

 

“Coraline honey…you wet yourself…” Mel patted down sweat off Coraline face, which didn’t physically make her flinch in the slightest.

**It’s not sweat.**

“Oh dear.” Miss Forcible frowned.

“Wh…what happened?” Coraline said, her voice weak and shaky.  
April moved closer, holding the girls hand. “You just passed out lovey. You scared us to death! We thought we got to bring your mother down before we call an ambulance or something.”  
“Did…did I? I— oh…oh god.” She looked down at her jeans, looking at the patch of darker blue. “I— I…I’m sorry.” She choked out, drool still dribbling down her chin.  
“Oh don’t worry about it. We’re just happy you’re alright!” Miss Forcible nodded assuringly.  
“Cmon honey, up you get.” Mel said, holding her arm pushing her upwards and leading her towards the velvet curtain. “I’ll come back to help clean up.” She turned back to the two.  
“Don’t be silly darling! We’ll take care of this, don’t you worry.” Miss Spink assured her, already waddling towards the broom cupboard where they kept cleaning supplies amongst other nick-nacks.  
“Thankyou for all your help.” She said, Coraline still making small whimpers, her body chattering under her mothers touch.

Coraline wasn’t too sure on how long she showered for. She had lost track of the time before she felt the water start to go cold as the hot water tank slowly started to empty. The bathroom was thick with the warm mist, making the walls damp with dewy drops of condensation.   
She changed into her pyjamas— they were pink with little pugs spotted all over. She wasn’t too sure when she got it, or who she got it from— it was just one of those things that one day popped up in her wardrobe without explanation. Regardless, they were the most comfortable ones she owned. He wet red hair hung down in strings looking more like thin dreads the more she towel dried it.  
The girl slumped down the corridor, her stomach still fluttering with embarrassment from her little accident. She could physically feel herself having an inwards shiver that would trail all the way up to her shoulders every time she even had a slither of a reminder of the feeling of the damp fabric under neath her.

However it was more her little fever dream that was getting her the most anxious.

It felt real. Too real. She could even recall the smell of cooked chicken and lavender perfume coming from the Beldam herself. A scent she could of sworn was so familiar to someone so dearly close to her.

“Where’s Dad?” Coraline asked, her voice soft as she twirled her fork in the canned spaghetti.  
“He’s stuck in traffic,” Mel sighed, sitting at the opposite end of the kitchen table. “As soon as I called him about you passing out he left work early only to be stuck on the freeway.”  
“Does he know I’m alright?”  
“Yeah, yeah he does.” She reached out to hold the girls hand. “A doctors coming over later on tonight, just to check if everything okay.”  
“Mmm.” Coraline grew silent. The sound of the central heating humming throughout the walls becoming the most prominent sound in the room— along with the occasional clunk of fork to porcelain.

“Coraline um, did you eat breakfast at all this morning?” Mel asked, “I’m only trying to think of possible causes of it thats all.”

“Yeah.” The girl spoke, still looking down at her plate.

“Did you drink any water today?”  
“Mhm.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes mom. I’m sure.”  
“What about…” Mel paused, looking away form her daughter for a second, as if over thinking what she was going to say next.  
“Yeah?” The red head looked up.  
Coraline’s mother bit her lip. “You didn’t…you didn’t _take_ anything did you?”

Coraline instantly felt the hairs on the back of her neck spike up. Goosebumps crawling up her skin. She had spent so long keeping her party life a secret. It had done it so well she had almost become a little lenient of how thought out her cover up stories of her whereabouts during the Friday nights.

**Did my mom find my Instagram?**

**No thats impossible I blocked her.**

**Unless she made a new account!  
Wait…maybe she cleaned out my room?**

**No thats stupid, mom would never clean my room.**

**Unless she was looking for my pot because she found my Instagram through her new account!**

**Wait…maybe she smelt the nicotine in my car?**

**No, never! There’s no need for mom be anywhere near my car.**

**Unless she was looking through my car to find my pot after finding nothing while cleaning my room because she saw my Instagram, looking through it with her new accou—**

“Coraline?” Mel raised a brow.  
“Oh— Uh…what do you mean?” Coraline quickly snapped back into reality.  
“You heard me.”  
“N-No! Don’t be stupid mom. You know I’m not like that. Not like that at all.”  
“Coraline look, you’re nearly an adult. I’m not going to be upset or like ground you or anything— I just need to know these things.”  
“I didn’t take anything I swear. Didn’t smoke, snort or inject nothin.” Coraline assured her— she wasn’t lying after all. The last thing she needed was to visit Miss Spink and Miss Forcible high as a kite.

**2**

The rest of the dinner was slightly awkward to say the least. After Charlie got home, the odd tension eased.   
 ****

In the end the doctor had no solid explanation for Coraline’s reason to mysteriously pass out— other than a possible case of dehydration. She was advised plenty of rest and plenty of water. Something both Mel and Charlie made sure of— it led Coraline to go the the bathroom several times throughout the night, having drunk litres upon litres of water. Coraline knew very well that dehydration had absolutely nothing to do with it all— but for the sake of her parents somehow coming to the conclusion that it was some drug induced panic attack, she went a long with it.

She had gotten up for the fourth time that night, needing to pee once again— the empty jug of water sitting on her bedside table. The house made silent noises as it settled down, Coraline easily mistaking them for creatures of the night, even though deep down she knew it was just the sounds of the pipes expanding.

After she finished doing whatever she needed to do, she quietly made her way down into the kitchen, digging around the cupboards for a midnight snack.

“Augh.” She groaned quietly upon discovering that her father had gotten into marshmallows before she could, there were only 3 left— but it was 3 more than none so she dug into them anyway, wiping away the marshmallow powder before exploring the pantry once again to see what else she could find.

**_KNOK KNOCK KNOCK._ **

Coraline jumped, her heart thumping so hard she could have sworn for a moment it left her chest.  
 ****

Who could be at the door at this hour?

With a mouthful of yet-to-be-chewed crisps she grabbed a butcher knife from the drawers— of course the logical thing would to get her father from upstairs, but with horror movie logic she knew it would be enough time for the psycho murderer to sneak in killing her family off one by one.   
She wanted to call out hello, but once again her knowledge of films repressed the urge to call out— she wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to be just another dumb white girl to be slaughtered off screen by Michael Myers.

Slowly, being too conscious of every step she inched towards the front door, the knife behind her back. 

Creaking the door open an inch, she was disappointed to say the least, that it was not a psycho murderer; but instead a hunched psycho nerd. His head was down with his hands wringling with themselves.

“Wybie for god-sakes!” She put her knife down, opening the door wide. “You scared the life out of me! What do you want.”  
Wybie tilted his head. “Wh-Why the knife?”  
“Doesn’t matter. What do you want.”  
Wybie’s head sunk low again, “Well, I— I was up late last night and— and you know how once I’m up past 12am I can’t sleep for the rest of the night. Well, yeah…I couldn’t sleep but then I went to the kitchen because I heard a noise a-a-and I went to go investigate and I thought— hey, maybe it was the cat! A-And I went where the noise came from and then it turns out it was the radiator so then I turned it off because Gramma doesn’t like it on during the night because it uses up too much electricity and—”  
“Wybie, its four in the fucking morning.” Coraline resting her palm on her forehead. “Get to the point.”  
“Gramma! Gramma’s missing!” The boy exclaimed.  
“What?”  
“Sh-She’s gone! I went to check on her after the kitchen because the other night her breathing-machine-thing wasn’t working so now I go and make sure its on every few hours and…and she was gone!”

“Coraline?” Said a voice from the corridor. “Who are you talking too?” Mel came into the corridor, her eyes, hardly opened with her bed hair spiked outwards.  
“Wybie’s gramma’s missing.” Coraline turned to her mother.  
“I- I didn’t know where else to go and I would look for her myself but m-my bike is broken and I don’t want to cause any trouble—”  
“Trouble?!” Mel moved towards the front door. “Don’t be silly! Where do you think she went?” She grabbed the car keys off the entrance table.  
“I don’t know, she can’t have gone that far, she’s so slow. God I hope she hasn’t tripped anywhere!” Wybie’s nails started to scratch into the opposite arm— a habit he had developed from numerous panic attacks. “She— she— I was meant to take care of her!”  
"Wybie honey please, calm down. We’ll find her!” Mel rubbed the boys shoulder. “If we cant find her by sunrise we’ll call the police. But, she can’t have gone far.”  
“Let me come!” Coraline said.  
“Coraline you can’t. Not after today. Just stay back and tell your dad where we went.” She said, putting on her slippers, tying up her dressing-gown.  
Coraline groaned, “Mom! Please I’m not gonna have like a seizure or—”  
“Coraline please! Just for once do as I say god dammit.” Mel growled, before hurrying the boy into her car.

Wybie felt as if he was sitting in their small car for all of eternity. They slowed down at street lights, the boy calling out for his grandma by her first name. Something he felt rather odd doing— but with how her mental health was going, he wasn’t even too sure if she responded to ‘Gramma’ anymore.

“Gemima!” He called out, his head sticking out of the car with his phone flashlight shining into the nooks and crannies of the darkened snow covered streets.  
“Mrs Lovat!” Mel called out from the other side, her eyes flashing from side walk to road and visa versa.  
The sky slowly became lighter as the search continued, Wybie jolting at every scuffle in the bushes, every rock that looked slightly life like, every possum that would scurry onto the road. The trees seemed to grow taller the further they went out of town. 

“She can’t have gone out here Wybie…I think we should head back.” Mel frowned at the boy, his neck craned outwards as he leant against the open window.  
“C-Could we just go around the block again?”  
“Wybie I— look, she can’t have gone out this way. We’ll go back home and we’ll call the police, and maybe we can gather a search party?”

Wybie leant back into the car seat, sighing of relief as his neck ached from sitting straight for so long.“I guess we—” Wybies words were sliced through with Mel’s familiar ring tone. The boys eyes widened, a glimmer of hope sparkled in the olive coloured irises. 

“Hello?” Mel answered.  
“Mom!” Said a familiar voice on the other line. “We found her!”  
Mel quickly turned to Wybie, a grin on her face which spread wide. She quickly put the phone on speaker.  
“Wh-where was she?” Wybie said, leaning into the phone.  
“She’s in…augh…” Coraline paused, a small crackle flickered on the line.  
“Is everything alright?” Mel furrowed her brows.  
“Yeah sorry, a moth just flew in my face.” Coraline said, “Dads just helping her in. She was in the garden under the bridge.”  
“The what?!” Wybie exclaimed.  
“Yeah I know!” Coraline’s voice seemed to not have a slither of concern, more a sense of relief— and slight amusement.  
“How did she even— actually don’t worry, we’re coming back now.” Mel quickly hung up, turning the car back around on the snow covered road.

Mrs Lovat didn’t seem to have a care in the world, she hardly knew where she was— who she was with— she even thought it was late in the afternoon.  
“Here Mrs Lovat.” Charlie said softly, his hair frizzed from tossing and turning all night, bags under his eyes sunk into his skull as he passed the fragile lady a cup of tea.  
“Oh fank you young man.” She sipped it, humming softly contently with a toothless smile, her teeth sitting in a cup of saltwater way back somewhere in her bedroom.  
“What time is your mom and Wybie coming back?” The man turned to his daughter, resting against the kitchen counter.  
“I don’t know,” Coraline shrugged, “She didn’t say.”

The three of them stood around awkwardly in the kitchen. Charlie having to quite literally pull his eyelids open in order to keep his balance. The kitchen was silent, nothing but the sound of the humming radiator and Mrs Lovat’s occasional sips of English Breakfast echoed in the room.  
Coraline occasionally zoned out, peeking out the window that was above the sink. It started to get lighter outside, the sky being an overcast steel blue— the morning sunrise just out of sight behind the towering pine trees.  
Time seemed to be absent in the early mornings for Coraline. She always felt the seconds slip by, being dragged out by the dark clouds. It was a peaceful limbo, a moment of content before the morning rays shone through her bedroom windows.

**3**

Mrs Lovat couldn’t remember even a second of her little adventure. Coraline had practically ran to bed once the two made it back home to pick up Mrs Lovat. From there, Mel dropped the two to their small home on the grey hill. Once the old woman had been put to bed, Wybie had collapsed onto his lounge sofa from yet another sleepless night. He sat with his back curving into his familiar hunch. His head in his hands.

The deafening sound of the antique clock ticking from the kitchen was enough to set Wybie on edge.  
“You alright?” Mel said, looking at the boy with a frown.  
“Yeah! Yeah it’s all good, just sleepy.” He said, “Thank you so much. Really I owe you guys.”  
“Wybie you don’t owe us anything.” The woman shook her head, before sitting on the sofa next to him. “Have you thought about…maybe…putting her in a home?” She asked the boy.  
“Of course.” He replied, “But there’s so many complications— a-and dad—” The boy paused, his brows furrowing as his expressions turned sour. “ _Ryan_ doesn’t want anything to do with me so he’s no help. I legally can’t put her in one, for some dumb loophole in the law that makes it so my dad— Ryan— has to approve it. And even if I could put her in myself I’m working two jobs and a third one still won’t cover the costs.”

“You’re working two jobs?” Mel frowned.

“How else am I supposed to pay for the bills?” Wybie’s blunt nails started to dig into his arms. “The rent you guys pay only covers medical fees. And I need to cover the quite a chunk for council rates for the Pink Palace as she still owns it— and we’re still struggling to find a landlord to take over! And there’s also—”

“And you’re dad is helping with none of this?” The woman raised a brow.

“No. No he’s not. Now I’m old enough he can stop paying child support and he wants nothing to do with me. We might even loose the Pink Palace. I contemplated going to his house but— I’m scared.”  
“Scared of what?”

“Scared of…god I don’t even know, scared he has another family of his own. Scared they don’t know about me— scared of confrontation— I mean I haven’t seen him since we left me with gramma after mom died and that was what— twelve? Thirteen? Years ago maybe?” He started to wringle his hands, his leg bouncing up and down.

“Lets go.” Mel said.

“What?”

“Lets go, to your dad, right now.”

“Are you for real?”

“I’ll go with you.” She got up. “Cmon!”

“I— No! I mean, what if he—”

“What if he what? You literally have nothing to loose cmon!”

“I, shit.” Wybie rubbed his eyes, “Fine— but let me get dressed first.” He said, realising he was still in his pyjamas. 

“That might be a good idea.”

** 4 **

Wybie could feel himself physically trembling as he got changed, the thought of seeing his dad was enough to make him feel nauseous.

 

**What if Ryan got in a horrific car crash and his face is totally disfigured, and he’s disabled?  
** **I wouldn’t be able to recognise him _and_ I’d be a total ass hat for expecting so much from him.  
** **Am I expecting to much from him?  
** **What If I’m expecting too much from him?!  
** **I mean he has struggles of his own surely?  
** **But no. No that doesn’t justify not replying to your sons texts…does it?  
** **Maybe his disability from the car crash made him illiterate?  
** **Maybe he had lost his phone and he’s too disabled from the car crash to know how to  
** **De-activate his phone number?  
** ****

**Can you even de-activate your phone number?**

 

**Did he even get into a car crash?**

 

**What the fuck am I talking about.**

It was still quite early in the morning when the two started driving out, Wybie having his address written shakily on a scrap piece of paper.

The streets were becoming more sleek with every turn and the houses seemed to grow bigger, sporting modern exteriors with fancy cars in the driveway— in some houses there was more than one.

“Geez…” Wybie said, looking at all the houses from the passenger seat. “I’ve never been to this side of town before.” He gripped onto his seatbelt, before closing his eyes, biting the inside of his cheeks. He felt the anxiety start to crawl up his spine, then back into his stomach.

“Hey…” Mel smiled softly at him. “It’s going to be okay.”   
“Yeah, I just feel a bit sick that’s all.”

The woman sighed, before looking out her window and squinting at the little letter boxes, reading the numbers. “It’s 27 isn’t it?” She said.  
“Yeah.” Wybie fiddled his thumbs. “27 Morse Avenue.”  
“Well I think this is it.” The car pulled in front of a house. A large house. The front was covered in Christmas lights with a Mistletoe hung on the door. The lawn was layered with white crunchy snow with the marbled pavement cleared for walking.

“I can’t do it.” Wybie said, turning away.  
“What do you mean you can’t?”  
“I can’t. I can’t! I mean, what if he hates me? Or has another family? I mean no one puts up a mistletoe if they live alone?”  
“Mr Bobinsky does.”  
“Mr Bobinsky doesn’t live in a mansion on Mason Avenue!”  
“Wybie look— even if you don’t re connect with him, he can’t leave you like this. At the very most you need him to sort out something for your grandmother. At least until you’re hold enough to legally handle it on your own. If you’re not going to do it for yourself…do it for Mrs Lovat.”

Wybie looked up at her, tears bubbling in the corners of his eyes before wiping them with his sleeve he nodded. 

“Alright.” He said. “Alright I’ll do it.”  
“Good! Now get out there.” She said, unlocking the door smiling at him nervously as she watched him get out car. His hands in his pockets, as he stepped through the front lawn approaching the grey front door.

His finger trembled as it approached the button for the door bell. He took a look upwards at the tall house. The large shined car sitting on the drive way, perhaps there was another hidden away in the garage, maybe two— or three.

Wybie turned his head, looking back at Mel in the car who was watching him anxiously. She flicked her wrist, urging him to get on with it.

**_DING DONG!_ **   
****

Wybie felt a cold burn spread across his body, his heart pounding, teeth chattering. He heard approaching foot steps, then the sound of smaller footsteps pattering behind them. The door opened revealing the matching— very expensive interior. A woman stood in the door way. A very attractive young woman with long dark ebony hair— her skin was peachy and pale. She looked at Wybie up and down with her charcoal eyes. 

“Sorry.” She said, “We’re not looking to buy raffle tickets or anything.” The woman crossed her arms.  
“N-No no! I’m just— I’m just looking for Ryan.” He said. “I’m a friend.”  
“Friend?” She raised a brow. “You’re quite young looking. You’re not selling him pot or anything are you? I told him he’s not buying that shit anymore."  
“What?” Wybie was taken aback, “P-Pot? No? I just need to see him. Is he there or not?”  
“Honey whose at the door?” Said a deeper voice from the end of the corridor.  
“Some kid wants to see you!” She turned her head, shouting to the other end.  
“Who?” The voice replied before the woman moved out of the way, showing a hunched Wybie, his hands wrangling as he stood, not too sure how to react on seeing his father in the first time in years.

Ryan, clearly shared features with Wybie. One being his pricing green eyes that looked right through his son. He held onto his mug of coffee.

“Oh.” Was all that Ryan said.  
“Hey.” Wybie waved.  
“Honey could you get Oscar off the playstation? I think he’s been there long enough.” The man looked at his wife, prompting her to go away.  
“What?” She said.  
“Please? Like right now.”

The woman only groaned, moving down the corridor and disappearing into the house.

“What are you doing here.” He moved towards the front door, not abandoning his cup of Joe.  
“I don’t know? I suppose after years of trying to contact you I thought I’d take it upon myself to finally say hi.”  
Ryan rolled his eyes, “What do you really want?”  
Wybie grit his teeth, his fluttering anxiety had seemly escaped his body, he was mad. He was more than mad. He was angry. “Well besides our very empty house that seems to lack any sort of fatherly presence— Gramma’s one dementia episode away from falling down and killing herself.” He growled, “She needs to be put in a home, and since I’m not legally obliged to do so. I need you to sort it out. You would know since you’ve read all my text messages, but hey! I thought I’d wait for you to come back from the shops— its only been 13 years!”Ryan just sighed, “Look, Wybourne— I—”  
“I don’t want to listen to you sob story. You have a n-nice house, nice wife— and by the sounds of it, nice kids. Just please, I need you to help me sort out gramma’s home and I’ll be out of your hair forever.”  
“Wybourne please keep your voice down—”  
“Do they—” Wybie paused, to let out a sarcastic laugh. “They don’t know about me do they?” The boy whispered smirking at him. “Do they even know about Rosie?”  
“N-No— No they don’t, they don’t know about you or your mother— I had to mourn in my own way and I needed to move on and you can’t expect me to hold onto her forever.” Ryan continued to keep quiet, occasionally looking over his shoulder.  
“I don’t expect you to hold on— and-….I-….we-….” He paused again, letting out another sigh, "I just want you to do the basics, just fill out some p-papers and we’re done. I would have called you or something first if you responded to them and I wouldn’t just rock up to your doorstep unless I had to so…”

Ryan stood there for a moment. Wybie tried hard to analyse him noting his idiosyncrasies, his little movements, his odd slouch— it was clear where Wybie got his terrible posture from.

The older man looked behind him.

“Daddy?” A little girl asked, with large sparkling green eyes which mirrored the likes of both Ryan and Wybie. “Whose at the door?”  
“Salesman.” Ryan replied coldly, Wybie didn’t react. He just continued wringling his hands, his teeth chattering slightly at the cold winter breeze outside. Ryan was quickly reminded on just how cold it was, but wasn’t too keen on letting the boy inside either.  
There was an odd silence as the little girl comprehended what a Sales person was, before just acknowledging it, holding onto her doll tightly and scurrying off.

“Come by my office next Wednesday at four, and we’ll sort out something alright?” Ryan said, ruffling through his pockets writing the address on a crumpled bake house flyer found in the darkest corners of his pant pockets.   
“Alright, thanks.” Was the only thing Wybie responded with before turning away— walking briskly down the front yard back into the little warm car.

Mel had a smile on her face seeing the boy put on his seat belt.

“Sooooo how did it go?” She grinned, dusting off snow from his jacket.  
“Surprisingly well.” Wybie sat back. “I mean he’s still the asshole that I remember and yeah sure I might still resent him but!—….but…but he said he’d help me. So I think I did well.”  
“Well? You did amazingly Wybie! I was worried there for a second, I thought you were going to like hit him or something."  
Wybie shook his head. “It was tempting though I got to admit.”

**5**

 

Coraline decided not to question why Mel had a sudden burst of spontaneity to get involved in Wybie’s family life, but Wybie didn’t seem to bothered by it. Coraline thought maybe it was something he needed as he didn’t really seem to want to talk about his problems to anyone but Coraline— and more often than not it was at 3 in the morning over text. She didn’t mind him venting, it was more trying to respond to them was what she struggled with. She couldn’t respond with: _“awwe honey thats so shit :^(((“_ or _“ooft”_ forever.

Most of the time Wybie just needed to let off some steam rather than asking for actual advice or counselling. She was glad Wybie was finally doing something about it all, and had small hopes that he’d start ranting to Mel instead of her.  
Coraline stayed inside for most of the day, wrapped up in a fort of blankets while Wybie shivered on the other end of the bed with nothing but a pillow.

“Can I have one?” He asked her.  
“Maybe.” The girl responded, not even looking up from her phone.  
Most of the time when Wybie came over they usually sat in opposite corners on the room on their phone before ordering uber eats then going home. It was more of the comfort of someone being with her than a seemingly empty lifeless room with nothing but her collection of Tamadochi’s to keep her company.

“I heard about what happened.” The boy said, frowning at her.  
“Oh shit you know too!?” Coraline groaned. “Im gonna fucking end Mrs Spink, telling everyone I pissed myself— that bitch!”  
“Pissed yourself?! I thought you just fainted!” Wybie’s jaw dropped, trying to hold back laughter that trickled up his jaw.  
“Oh…Oh you just heard that I fainted.” The girls cheeks suddenly grew as red as her hair. “I—Yeah. I just…I…”  
“Spit it out.”  
“I saw her.”  
“Again?”  
“No not again, the first time I saw _me_ with buttons. I saw _her_ Wybie. In the flesh. It was so real, I could smell the house, taste the asbestos on my tongue. B-But it was different. It wasn’t like when I was there last.”

“…What do you mean?” Wybie raised a brow.

**6**

 

Wybie had to take a while to comprehend what Coraline had saw. He knew there were questions to ask but still wasn’t sure on what they were just yet.

“What?”

Except for that question of course.

“What do you mean what?” Coraline said, “What more is there to say?”

“I know I just—I don’t know.”  
“You saw something too didn’t you?” The red head said, rather bluntly that is.  
“What?”  
“Stop with the whats! When you were cooked you said you saw something before continuing tripping.”  
“I might have said something but I don’t think—” Wybie’s eyes widened, before furrowing again.   
“…Yeah?”  
The boy shook his head, “No yeah that rings a bell. I know I saw something but I don’t know…what….it…was….” Wybie looked behind Coraline. His eyes widening again.  
“Actually…I….I think I do…” He said shakily, Coraline quickly turning behind her gasping.  
She was tall. She was thin. Her hair was wiry stringing down her cracked face. Her eyes were lifeless. Her eyes were buttons. 

“That…” Wybie gulped. “It was that.”


	6. Bugs life

 

**1**

 

Coraline never knew how to tie her shoelaces for the longest time. For years she still did bunny ears until the day that Wybie pointed it out. Sure she was embarrassed— it was such a childish thing to do. But it was the only way she knew how. And just like tying shoelaces—here were many ways she could have responded to the towering Beldam some much easier than others:

 

**Coraline could either:**

**a)** **Stand up and confront the other mother with her wits and make their untimely escape with the cat before running dandily through the tunnel (Assuming they’re in the other world) in lounge before uniting at a Christmas party living happily every after— supposedly.**

 

**b)Jump off the bed the two were currently sitting at, before temporarily escaping the other mother and regroup in order to find her weaknesses— not to be confused with option A as chances are the two might be too traumatised to be celebrating withChristmas party anytime soon— plus Coraline wasn’t much of a fan of the holiday as mentioned earlier.**

 

**OR…**

 

**c) Scream.**

 

And just likes the shoe laces— she only knew one way and that was how to scream. She knew there were other options but didn’t particularly have the capacity to try and come up with those. Like, look at option a), Coraline thought it was best to assume she was in the other world— but she a) didn’t have a key since that was long gone and probably rusting— and b) she could potentially be trapping herself in the otherworld by going from the real world INTO the other world thinking she had escaped the other world from a potential hallucination from the other mother.

 

It was thoughts like these which is why Coraline chose to just scream.

 

**2**

Coraline’s mouth hung down as the other mother smirked down at them. What other option did she have? I’m definitely not going through that introduction again— which leads us to the only conclusion that she of course— just screamed.

Wybie toppled backwards off the bed onto the cold hard planks. He was truly lost for words.

“Do you like them?” The other mother said, tapping her buttons with her needles. “They’re much nicer than the old ones don’t you think?” The beldams familiar voice, was haunting. It made Coraline’s blood turn cold.

  
It was enough to make the girl shriek, she thought she was going to pass out. Her heart was pounding, her breath was cold, eyes were watering.

“I’m not scared of you!” Another voice called out. Coraline’s head quickly spun around to her doorway. Wybie’s nails dug into the floor boards as he quickly glanced at the doorframe.

“You give him back! Give him back!” It shouted, Coraline glanced back at Wybie— taking the opportunity to rush out of the covers joining him on the floor in front of the book shelf.

“Coraline— I can’t do that. You know that.”

In the doorway stood a girl, her body covered in scratches— her red hair covered in cobwebs.

 

“Holy shit!” Wybie swore. “You’re seeing this right?!” He exclaimed, feeling wetness dribble down his face. His nose was bloody— again?

Coraline didn’t know whether to make a run for it or not as she knew staying in the one spot and not moving was the one way ticket to be the dumb white girl slaughtered off screen— but she was so scared— but more importantly confused— so she just stayed. Stayed and watched.

“I don’t…” Coraline muttered. The _real_ Coraline muttered. “I don’t think it’s real."

The beldam grinned at the _other_ Coraline standing in the door way, moving torn gown aside.

Wybie felt his heart drop, his eyes widened, teeth clenched.

“It’s not real Wybie.” Coraline moved closer to him. “It’s not real!”  
  
A body was propped up against the tallboy. His dreads hanging down his lifeless face. His shirt soaked in crimson blood that trailed form his eyes that were replaced with shining black buttons. A haunting smile was forced with wire and stitches, sticking through his lips.

“OH MY GOD!” Wybie gasped, his stomach churned— he thought truly thought this was the end, he started praying in his mind— not that he was religious, but it was all that he could do. Coraline made choked cries in fear watching the other Coraline at the door way screamed, shuffling backwards onto the stair railing outside her room.

 

There were screams.

 

And then there was silence.

 

And then there was Charlie bursting through the door— which seemed to be closed the entire time…apparently.

 

“What on earth is going on here!” Charlie looked at the two huddling in front the book shelf next to the door.

 

Everything was normal.

 

Though it took them a while to for them realise that.

 

“She’s here! She was here! The beldam the beldam was in the fucking room she was there!” Coraline pointed to the other side of bed, where the once beldam stood.  
“Bell-what?” Charlie crossed his arms.  
“Sh-She’s going to sew buttons into my eyes!” Wybie spat out wiping the blood dripping down his nose with his sleeve, hyperventilating— staring at the tallboy where his dead body once sat.  
“Alright thats it.” The older man looked down at the two. “Coraline what did you take?!”

“What?”

“You heard me! You think your mom and I are stupid? You think you can just get away with things like this? I don’t what you doing shit like that here. Not in this house.”  
“N-No dad! No you don’t understand she’s real!” The girl stood up, moving towards the bed, looking underneath and all around. “She was here I swear! She took you once! Don’t you remember? Dad please you have to believe me!”  
“Coraline just— just lay down or something please. And you…” Charlie turned to Wybie. “I thought you would turn out alright.”  
Wybie frantically shook his head. “N-No sir I swear we didn’t take anything we’re not- she- the other mother!-”  
“Get out.”

Wybie felt a pit form in his stomach.

 

“And don’t let Mel find out about this either.” He said.  
“B-But Mr Jones I—”  
“OUT.” The father pointed to the stairway.

The boy had his head low, getting up shamefully and moving between the doorway and Charlie. Coraline just sighed watching the boy rush down the steps.

“What is it? 3 weeks no phone? One month not going out? Two months? Three?”

Charlie just shook his head. “Coraline the only punishment now is the one you give yourself.” He said, “You’re nearly an adult now.”  
Coraline felt annoyed at this point, for the few weeks she has had nothing in her system is when her parents decided to start noticing.  
“Just lay down and wait for it to wear off….whatever you took.”

The girl watched as her dad left the room. She could be dying, she could have taken heroin. She could have done ice. And her dad was just going to walk away like that? 

I mean really— she did nothing. 

“Now what?” She said aloud, her eyes anxiously darting around the room. She was terrified to stay in there but more scared of her father to be let out. Coraline sat with her back against the wall, as her back against nothing would be far too much for her to handle with the lingering feeling that someone was watching.

Surprisingly, while that experience was to say the very least…terrifying— Coraline was too confused focused on trying to figure out what the hell it was all meant to mean.   
Who was that other Coraline? Surely it couldn’t have been her? Surely that Wybie couldn’t have been Wybie? But that other mother was certainly the other mother…and that blood certainly looked real.

 

Could it have been real?

 

Surely? Wybie saw it too?

 

Then that meant the buttons in the bathroom was real. The rat was real. Gemima was real. Wybie’s body that sat like a rag doll— he was all real.

 

**3**

Coraline decided her angry father was much scary than any demonic entity of sort, so for the rest of the dazed afternoon she spent looking through wiki article, after reddit forum, after quora question after creepypasta wiki.

 

Nothing.

 

Nothing on faeries, nothing on buttons, nothing on _her._

 

**BADING!**

 

**1 minute ago**

**_Wybaby:_ ** _Hey is everything okay in there?_

 

Coraline looked down at her phone, sighing at the notification on her glowing screen. She picked up the phone, swiping right to respond.

 

**_You :_ **

_Yeah dad’s kinda shitty but like I’ll live :^/_

**_Wybaby:_ ** __

_Shit,,, yeah I’m sorry about that._

**_You :_ **

_Nah it’s fine, it was easier than to explain what actually happened_

 

**_Wybaby:_ **

_I’m shitting myself tho, what do we do? Is she really back?_

**_You :_ **

_I dunno, I’m looking stuff up now_

**_Wybaby:_ **

_How are you not terrified the bowl damn is watching you or somethin?_

**_You :_ **

_lmao what ?? ahah_

**_Wybaby:_ ** __

_BELDAM**_

 

_You set Wybaby’s nickname to ‘Bowl damn’_

 

**_Bowl damn:_ **

_You’re not taking this seriously._

**_You :_ **

_Do you want to come up with another coping mechanism?_

**_You :_ **

_Humours all I got bby u know that_

**_You :_ **

_I just_

**_You :_ **

_idk_

**_You :_ **

_I’m not as scared as I should be u get me?_

 

**_Bowl damn:_ **

_Are you fucking kidding me ,,, no?? I don’t ‘get u’ dude. I’m terrified, you saw my dead fucking body right?! I’m scared!!!_

**_You :_ **

_But Wybie don’t u understand? She’s messing with us. She wants this response._

 

 **_Bowl damn:_ ** _So its true then…_

**_You :_ **

_???_

**_Bowl damn:_ ** __

_She’s really back and out to get u_

 

**_You :_ **

**__ ** _idk how to break this to u but I think she’s out to get_ **_us._ **

**_Bowl damn:_ **

_Shit homie_

 

**_You:_ **

_Don’t worry tho,I’m gonna sort it all out._

**_You:_ **

_Just take care of ur grammies lol_

**_You:_ **

_< 3 tell her I said hi_

_Read 12:51am ✓_

 

She definitely did not sort it out. At least not yet. Her eyes were getting heavy, the songs playing through her Spotify grew meaningless as the lyrics became more mumbles of blurs through guitar and song. Nothing was making sense, she was too tired.

Though eventually what she thought was her music gradually grew louder. Little by little. It started with a little tap. Then more. Then several taps. Then more.

 _“Meow~”_ Cooed a soft thing form outside.

“No way.” Coraline pushed her laptop aside, bolting up from out of her bed and to the window. “Cat!” The girl exclaimed lifting the window frame.  
Nothing. Nothing but the mere strong winter breeze that chilled anyone to the core. Coraline was disappointed, she had hoped it was her imagination as the last thing she wanted was the poor thing to be out in the cold. He hardly had a bit of blubber on his skinny body— there was no way he could survive a night like this.

 

Unless he was dead.

 

Coraline had speculated on that morbid theory for a while. That the cat simply had just died and the two were yet to discover his decaying corpse. Part of her wished the cat was dead so they could stop wondering where he went off too. It was most likely though due too all theirtheir theories becoming the two most probable theories: either the death theory or running off and making kittens theory— and unfortunately she knew which path the asexual cat was most likely to take in times like these.

 

_“Meow~”_

 

Again!

 

Coraline this time stuck her head out the window, feeling the pitter patters of snow fall on her hair and sink onto her scalp.  
“Stop messing with me cat!” She growled. “Either show yourself or stop teasing!”  
At this point Coraline _wanted_ to stumble on his dead body— this was getting too annoying and too vague for her liking.

And just like that, the feline jumped into frame. Coraline was certainly at a loss for words, one moment ago she was wishing death upon the poor thing but now— oh now she was hurrying the poor thing to come inside. 

“Y-Your back!” She exclaimed, truly amazed that the cat responded to her complaints.  
Besides from a few accents of grey hairs around the cats nose, he didn’t seem much different. Still the same skinny black cat everyone grew to love over the years— even Mr Bobinsky, who had to keep the feline away from his circus mice had grown a soft spot for the thing.  
“You want something to eat?” She asked, crouching down petting his head. “I-I got tuna? Or sardines? Or do you want some— actually I don’t know what else cats eat…”

He just shook his head.

“You still understand me right?” Coraline asked, which of course given the circumstances was an odd thing to ask. But Coraline always had the lingering thought at the back of her head that the whole button ordeal…wasn’t real.

I mean ridiculous as it sounds Coraline would often like to piece together imaginary examples of it all not being real. Maybe it was a coping mechanism? Maybe it truly wasn’t real? I mean something as absurd as that couldn’t possibly be real could it? She was asking a cat if he understood her for goodness sakes. It couldn’t possibly- there was no way it certainly- it was indefinite that he could not-

The cat nodded. 

Coraline took a moment to look away, taking a deep breath. 

**In through the mouth, hold 1 , 2 , 3…**

**Out through the nose, hold 4 , 5 , 6…**

 

“Then you’d know.” She said. “Is that why you’re here? Back at the Pink palace?”

The cat nodded. 

“And…and you’re here to protect Wybie too I’d imagine."

The cat nodded.

“Then it’s true…She’s not dead.”

The cat nodded.

“She never was dead.”

The cat tilted his head.

 

“Right?” She said confidently, _“…Right?”_ She said, slightly less confidently.

The cat shook his head.

Coraline just frowned. “Huh.” She crawled back into bed, making room for the cat to crawl next to her. “I guess we’ll find out in the morning yeah?” She watched the feline curl up at the end of her bed— as she too did the same under the covers.  
“I’m glad you’re back.” She said, smiling down at him peacefully purring. She felt a sense of comfort with him around. Like nothing could hurt her. Coraline didn’t fear the Beldam lurking in the dark nooks and crannies of her room, because if she was there— the cat would know.

 

**4**

“Coraline…I’m just saying—” Wybie said, his head down fiddling his thumbs.

Coraline puffing on a lumpily rolled up cigarette that hang down her mouth as she drove down the Ashland streets.

“Saying what?” She used her free hand to flick the ash out the window.  
“I mean…we’re going to graduate soon— a-and we’re going to be moving away from the Pink Palace, I mean you’ve already got early entry to Parsons—”  
“I’ve _applied_ for early entry to Parsons.”  
“Either way next year we’re going to be out of this shit hole.” He said, “A-and the Beldam is going to be stuck in that house and away from the both of us.”  
“So you’re saying we should just ignore it and put up with hallucinations for the next year? Maybe leave the next kid who moves in to deal with the beldam! Wybie don’t you understand? It’s become more about where whether we’re in the Pink Palace or not. You weren’t in the Pink Palace the first time you saw her. We could be in god damn Australia and she’d appear in a god damn Taronga zoo inclosure ready to sew buttons the eyes of some poor crocodile.” Coraline growled side eyeing him as she made a slight swerve into the next street. “Anyway I’ve got something to show you.” She pulled into her drive way.  
Wybie gulped, looking up at the tall pink apartments. Coraline opened the door, stepping her foot out.  
“Aren’t you coming?” She said, “It’s important!”  
“I can’t.” He said, tingles spreading up his arms, churning his stomach. “I-I can’t go in there.”  
Coraline rolled her eyes, clearly not in the mood. “Dad’s not even that mad anymore!”  
Wybie shook his head, huddling in the car. “Coraline how are you not scared?” He asked.

Coraline took a second, looking at the ground outside before stepping back inside the car and closing the door.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean how do you just act like nothing happened? After what we saw yesterday how can you just sleep in your bedroom, get up to go take a piss or a glass of water? How do you just  go in and out of your house like its nothing? I mean aren’t you scared?” Wybie looked straight into Coraline nonchalant eyes, furrowing his brows. 

The car stayed quiet for a bit, Coraline was really thinking about her answer.  
  
“I am scared Wybie.” She said eventually, “Im terrified. I’m so scared and terrified beyond what you can imagine. I’ve seen what she’s capable of and knowing that she can do so much more is the like scariest thing. Knowing she’s not just after me. Knowing she can start to reach out to us outside the Pink Palace. Knowing she could be in the back seat—”   
Wybie’s eyes quickly glanced at the mirror, feeling a shudder run down his back as his imagination flashed at the thought of the other mother lingering in the reflection.

“I got something that can help us though…but I need you to come with me.” She held out her gloved hand, the boy glancing at the hand then back at her.

 

_**Wybie eyed what she was wearing above all things.** _

__

_**\- One oversized Nike windbreaker that was Wybies** _  
_**\- One pair of New Rocks Reactor Boots that was also Wybie’s** _  
_**-One pair of hand-me-down jeans that were once Mel’s** _

__

_**He could get lost into her eyes, they weren’t anything special to most,** _

_**But to him they were comforting, wide eyedand glistening.** _

_**Wybie had. Only for her. Only because of her.** _

 

“Okay.” He said, reaching out to grip it. Coraline smiling at the boy before leading him out of the car.

The apartment was empty, besides the occasional footsteps of Mr B stomping around above. It was enough to easily frighten Wybie.

He was so familiar with the walls with all the times the two had stumbled in high or drunk— sometimes both. All the nights he had spent sobbing on Coralines shoulder, thanking Mrs Jones for eggs and bacon for breakfast, opening presents on the annual Christmas Party the Jones’ would host.

And now he wanted nothing more but to be out of the horrid place.

“What’s going to help us then?” Wybie said, looking up towards the steps that lead to her room.  
“You’ll see!” She said, somewhat excitedly pulling up into her room.

There, he sat, on a large fluffy pillow that laid on Coraline bed. He was licking his paws turning around in circles before turning in the opposite direction knowing very well it would make no difference.

Wybie’s jaw dropped the floor.

“Cat!!” He exclaimed, rushing over to the feline— The cat was taken aback a bit, but was quick to recognise the familiar musk of Wybie. He meowed at the boy, purring as Wybie was quick to pull the skinny thing into a cuddle. 

The cat happily complied.

“I thought he was dead!” Wybie looked down at him, “I thought you were dead!”  
“Or had kittens!” Coraline was quick to correct him, reminding him of the second theory the two came up with.

“O-Or kittens!” He chuckled, scratching the cat under his chin.

Coraline smiled down at him, watching his fear suddenly fade at the presence of the cat.

There was a moment of contentment— a moment when they nearly forgot the entirety of the situation. Is was not long though before Coraline cleared her throat, reminding Wybie the real reason why he brought him here.

“Anyway,” She said, “I think I might know who the Beldam is.”

Wybie stopped patting him, his expression changing suddenly at the change of topic. “Well, I mean yeah I thought we’d figure that out by now. ”

“No I mean like _what_ she is. Before my…my accident…Ms Spink mentioned that she thinks the place is haunted. By faeries and— well after reading up on them the description fits pretty well to the beldam.”  
“Like…tinker-bell?”  
“No Wybie! Like evil little creatures that eat children and can disguise themselves into whatever really.”

“Why don’t we go down and ask what else Ms Spink knows about faeries?”

“Absolutely the fuck not!” Coraline swore, “Theres no way I can even make eye contact with them after what happened. Besides, we have the internet and the library— and I think if we find her weaknesses-”

Wybie bit his lip, “Does she have any? You supposedly killed her threw the key down the well and—”  
  
“I think thats where we fucked up.” Coraline cursed again, sitting on the bed— the cat moving towards her lap. “You tried to warn me didn’t you kitty.” She looked down at the cat nodding in agreement.  
“What are you talking about?” Wybie asked, sitting beside her.

“I think there are multiple ways to get to the other world,” She said, “Theres the door in the living room behind the book shelf obviously. But then theres also the well.”

Wybie’s eyes widened, suddenly realising as he put two and two together. “So you think we-”

“Yes. Yes we just delivered the key right back to her. I mean that has to be it. How else would she be back?” Coraline closed her eyes, remembering to that night— everything was so vivid, the ghost children, the cat, the breeze dragging the cherry blossoms throughout the summer night and especially the clinking of the severed hand against the muddy ground. She could see everything, feeling the string holding the key around her neck choke her as the hand dragged her across the ground. She remembered looking up at the stars thinking it was truly the end.

The red head shuddered, snapping out of thought. “She said, there’s only one key and the beldam _will_ find it.”  
“Whose she?” Wybie asked

“Grandma’s missing sister.”

The two stayed quiet for a bit, Wybie taking a moment for everything to sink in.

“Why did it take her so long?” The boy questioned. “I mean surely she would have tried to just attempt to kill you again straight away.”  
“I think she needed to regain her strength— I don’t know how but— she’s not at full strength yet so she’s probably trying to scare us. To let us know she’s back. That’ll explain what I saw when I passed out, what we saw yesterday and that’s probably not going to be the last of the hallucinations.”

“Nice.” Was all the boy responded with, sighing as he fiddled his thumbs. “But that’s just a theory.” He said.  
“Yeah.” Coraline nodded in agreement, “Just a theory. But I can’t see what else it could be? It would make sense that theres more than one way to get out of the other world, that would explain how the cat could go in and out. Maybe tunnels to get to the other aren’t physically big enough to fit us so they’d have to be in little nooks and crannies , places that aren’t obvious, it’ll explain how the jumping mice got in and out along with the cat. That leads to my next idea—” She cleared her throat, “The door was sealed with our new wallpaper, and Mom told me the council found that the well hadn’t been tested for years so it was considered unsafe, they’re cementing over it in July— so I think…I think if we find the entrances that are left and somehow block them off— her magic or powers or whatever can stop into our world.”

“Which is how the cat can help us!” Wybie grinned looking back down at the cat on the lap. “Aren’t you little guy?”

The cats eyes widened, his small jaw hanging open as he went from contently purring to suddenly sitting up. The tail perking out straight.

Coraline raised a brow, “You are going to help us right?”

The cat clearly thought about it for a bit, licking his paws before shaking his head.

“What?! Why!” Coraline exclaimed standing up, “You know where all the entrances are, you can help us by blocking them off.”  
The cat continued to shake his head.  
“Why?” She crossed her arms. The cat could only communicate so much with gestures.  
“Coraline are you really expecting him to _explain_ why?” Wybie sighed.

Coraline turned to him. “No!— …No…But you know it would help.”

The boy thought about it for a bit, the cat could really only respond in yes or no so those were the type of questions he had to ask.

“Was Coraline's theory right then?” Wybie moved closer to him. The cat tilted his head.

“They were half right?”

He nodded.

“So is there more than one entrance to the other world?”

He nodded.

“And we can block them off.”  
  
He shook his head.

“See? He wasn’t saying no, he was saying that we can’t just cut all them off.” He looked at Coraline, before turning his attention back to the cat. “So how many are there? Less than ten?”

The cat shook his head.

“More than 10?”

Coraline watched as the cat nodded. Wybie kept on going up,—10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. The cat kept on shaking his head. 

“Oh my god.” Coraline covered her face, her eyes watering and her chest getting heavy. “There’s no way we can close off all of them! She’ll find a way to get us. There will always be a way.”  
“Unless…” Wybie looked at the ground then back up at her, “Unless theres a way to get rid of the key.”

“What?”

“It’s the key isn’t it? I mean as long as the beldam has the key she can get through all the tunnels. I mean if what you say is right and there is more than one entrance to the other world, she had to have had needed the key in order to get through to our world. I mean if she didn’t need the key then why would her hand be so desperate to get it back to her?”  
Coraline felt everything click, her mind flashing through memories buried under piles of rubble and coping mechanisms. They hadn’t been dug up for years.  
“There were other places, other doors when I was in the other world to rooms that I don’t remember ever going through…maybe those—”  
“It’s a master key.”  
“Of course! _‘Only one keys…’_ Thats what the other father said to me before she dragged him away oh my god it makes sense! Find the key, destroy the key, trap the other mother! I shouldn’t have hid it, I should have destroyed it!” Coraline felt the glimmer of hope start to rise. It seemed just too easy.  
  
Wybie shook his head, “But that still doesn’t explain how she has managed to keep her powers this entire time. You said she needed human souls or fl-flesh to keep her alive so how has she been able to stay alive this time without souls?”

“I don’t know.” Coraline admitted, “But we have to find out. Maybe that will lead us too finding out her weakness.”  
“Maybe there was more then.” Wybie said, now starting to think about it, with every questioned they answered more arrised.  
“More what?” Coraline raised a brow.  
“More children, I mean there was the three ghost children but whats not to say she took more?”  
Coraline did think about it for a bit, the ghost children were so vivid in her mind, she could close her eyes and picture them right in front of her with ease— though she would prefer not too. “Pioneer girl looked around turn of the century but— Huck Finn junior seemed a bit more colonial but I think the other mother took the girl first.”  
“Maybe if we find who disappeared first we can create maybe some sort of time line, maybe fill in some gaps.”

Coraline wasn’t particularly too keen on Wybie’s suggestion, but she knew some detective work was inevitable. All she knew was that she had to be two steps ahead of the beldam— she couldn’t fight this unprepared.

**5**

 

The towns library was old. That was perhaps the realest way of describing the place. The ceilings were high and the place smelt of old paper and cardboard. Coraline hadn’t been there in years and chances were that she wouldn’t have gone there unless she truly had too. The librarian amongst all people seemed baffled when two teenagers were so eager to find out the towns history.

Aren’t you two a bit old to be doing papers on ashland? That sounds like a very middle school-esque project to me.” The librarians nose hovered over the two.  
“Uh— Well, you know— don’t ask us ask the OEA. They make the curriculum. It’s very middle school-esque.” Coraline said snarkily in respone, folding her arms. “We just need to see the archives.”  
“Mmm…alright.” She said, “But you have to wear our gloves when handling the papers. They date as far back as 1851.” She grabbed the keys, leading them to a dark back room. The lighting was cold and blue and the place felt unused. Empty. Regardless of the rows upon rows of cabinets.

“Here.” She said, passing the two teens white cotton gloves. “Wear these when putting them on the magnifier.”  
Coraline looked at the ghastly gloves which were not fashionable in the slightest, but regardless she listened, the two slipping them on as they got handed the master key for all the cabinets.

“You know all these recourses are online right?” The librarian raised a brow turning before she left. “I haven’t had anyone ask to see the newspapers in years.”  
“You have a few years missing.” Coraline said, more than certain she had searched the Ashland library website countless times— none mentioned of a Pink Palace.   
The librarian didn’t respond, just closed the door leaving the two in the fluorescent lit room.

Wybie let out a sigh of relief as he opened the bag. “You have to stop moving!” He pulled the cat out.  
“Well he couldn’t exactly breath in there!” Coraline said, starting too look at the cabinets, the cat flashing a dirty glare at Wybie as he propped up on the shelves.  
“Anyway how olds you grandma.” Coraline squinted, looking at the tiny dates written with a label printer stuck to the cabinets.  
“92.” Wybie said.

Coraline muttered a few things to herself, before moving forward. Looking through the dates her eyes skipped a few decades. Wybie followed quickly behind her. The cat trotted along the shelves above, before hopping onto a particular cabinet. 

 

**ASHLAND TIDINGS DAILY 1936**

**Section A**

 

Wybie was quick to point it out, “1936! Gramma would have been 12 around the time her sister disappeared.”  
Coraline didn’t hesitate to open the cabinet, which was long and full of little headings.  
As her gloved fingers sorted through each file, The Ashland Tidings Daily cabinet had 7 sections, all with four draws each that drew out far. 

“This is hopeless!” Coraline sighed, after going through file after file. “W-We need something more specific. Did you bring the photo like I asked?”  
Wybie nodded, drawing out the familiar photo of Grandmas missing sister. “I brought a few others that were in her trunk…this one looks like its looks like its around spring time…”

There were portraits of the two twins, Gemima gripping onto the doll tightly in every single one. Coraline looked closer at the monochrome photo taken outside the garden in particular. Wybie was right, it was spring, there were cherry blossoms blooming from the large tree next to the bridge. She flipped the fragile film over and took off her glove, licking her thumb and rubbing the back.

“Coraline what are you doing?! You’re ruining it!” The boy panicked, instinctively ready to snatch the photo back. 

“Dates were imprinted on the back of photos before they were put to develop so it was easier to organise them. Once they were put in the chemicals the date would fade away. Film developer was mostly made out of metallic and acids but cheaper alternatives just had starch and acetic acid, which can be broken down by amylase…which surprise surprise is in our saliva.”

Wybie was baffled, “You know this…how?”

“Brooklyn nine nine.

Soon enough, a date did appear on the back. 

_12/04/36_

“Oh my god…” Wybie said.

“I think we found our filing cabinet.” Coraline grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> I know ur probably mad that I left on that little cliff hanger in the last chapter and bam it was all a hallucination, but thanks for sticking with me thru this slow ass story ! I got heaps of ideas for where its heading next and next chapter is already insane,, idk if you guys could tell but I incorporated Coraline fan theories from youtube particularly the one about the well being another portal and I think I'll include more because they're very interesting so yeah! thanku guys for being gr8
> 
> ps reminder that this exists https://open.spotify.com/user/tretrixx/playlist/0VnDqn39cPQ6LGMknbADSu?si=2lSMuw9iRUGHMq6UeU7pZQ


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